Gwinnett gun permit applications surge after Orlando shooting

Gwinnett County gun permit applications spiked in the week following the Orlando massacre, officials said.

County spokesman Joe Sorenson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that 311 people visited Gwinnett's probate court to apply for firearms permits last week, the first after the June 12 shooting that left 49 people dead in a gay dance club in Orlando, Florida. During the week prior to the shooting, Gwinnett saw just 184 applications.

The weekly average for May was 206 applications, Sorenson said.

The surge is a common trend in Gwinnett, metro Atlanta and across the country following high-profile shootings. Channel 2 Action News reported Monday that one Cobb County gun store was selling 15 AR-15s an hour. It usually sells four or five a week.

Gwinnett County also saw a then-record amount of gun permit applications following the 2012 mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Explore»MORE: Orlando shooting victim had apparent Gwinnett County connection.

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